The illustrations are particularly strong as
you can see from the cover. This image introduces us to the man who had vision
and was a great leader. The free-verse text sketches out the basic story of his
life and a 2-page author’s note fills in more of the details of Nelson
Mandela’s struggle. Recommended for elementary grades.

I’ve blogged about this book numerous times
and included it at least twice in past lists for the Top Ten event. It really is a
must-have. Again, the illustrations only emphasize the beauty of the story. A
young Kenyan man studying in New York in 2001 when the Twin Towers collapsed
returns home to seek support from his community to give a herd of cattle to the
Americans as a way to show sympathy, support and as a way to heal. To the Maasi of
Kenya, cattle are a way of life and mean everything to them as a people. I
still tear-up when I read it.

I love this story
because of the initiative taken by a Gambian woman named Isatou when she saw a problem
that needed to be addressed. Single-use plastic bags were a problem in her
community, polluting the area, killing livestock and attracting insects. With
help from the community, repurposing the plastic bags, into crocheted carrying
bags she is able to generate income and, at the same time, as reducing waste.

This is a Canadian story about Viola Desmond, a black woman
who in 1946 was asked to move from a main floor movie theatre seat to a seat
located in the balcony. When she refused, she was jailed, charged, and fined.
This incident rallied the black community in Nova Scotia to push back against long
standing racial discrimination.

Having just watched a PBS documentary about Rachel Carson it
reminded me about the importance of her work. These two books tell us Rachel’s
life story, her strong connection to nature, and why she was committed to
increasing awareness to environmental issues. The book by Laurie Lawlor really
ties into the impact a single person can have in the world. The beginning of the environmental movement is attributed in part to Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring.

This book also speaks to a person committed to the environment. I really appreciated how this story illustrates a man’s commitment to wildlife conservation and how his connection to animals helped him overcome a debilitating stutter. Finding his voice has enabled him to speak for the animals found in the wild.

Jane Goodall is the quintessential conservationist,
internationally renowned for her work with chimpanzees in Tanzania. The other book to be aware is a 2012
Caldecott Honor book, Me…Jane
by Patrick McDonnell.

Awareness of transgender issues have been prevalent recently
and Jazz Jennings is certainly doing her bit to help people understand what
this experience has been like for her and her family. This picture book is
appropriate for younger children whereas Being Jazz : My Life (as a TransgenderTeen) by Jazz Jennings a much longer book is directed to students
in grade 6 and up.

Emmanuel was born in Ghana with a severely deformed leg. The biggest
challenge for him to overcome was the prejudice he experienced from others. With a great deal of grit, perseverance and
encouragement from his mother he went to school, learned to play soccer and
ride a bike. He undertook a 4000 km trip across Ghana on his bicycle to raise awareness
and change attitudes in his county towards those with disabilities.

This book is a collection of quotes from famous activists including
Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Anne Frank, and the Dalai Lama who have lived
experiences with ‘dreams of freedom’. Besides the provocative, beautiful, and
inspiring words are provocative, beautiful and inspiring illustrations done by
a bevy of international illustrators such as Mordicai Gerstein, Chris Riddell,
Sally Morgan, Oliver Jeffers and Roger Mello. Works well with social studies
when the Rights of Child is being taught. Beautiful book.

Again, I highly
encourage you to visit the rest of the entries in today’s event by clicking on Picture Book 10 for 10 Community.You will come
away with many irresistible recommendations.

Monday, February 6, 2017

Lots of building going on with our student-teachers these
days: building lesson plans and units; building projects’; building prototypes
of all sorts using various materials including Lego robotics, wooden blocks,
foam blocks, straws, cardboard; and above all, building knowledge.

One topic that came my way recently was students wanting to
develop a unit for primary grades around the idea of building a community. Did
I have any recommendations that would inspire and inform a unit like this?

YES!

With the idea in mind that young children would connect
readily with building homes (and ties neatly into the Alberta social studies
curriculum to boot) we decided to start with that.

I recommended browsing the series, Young Architect with the
following titles:

Though the suggested grade level is 3 to 6, I think the
illustrations would certainly spark the imagination of students in grades 1 and
2, as well. These particular student teachers got excited when they started
flipping through them, for there’s lots of information about construction
techniques and materials and definitions for specialized words. I didn’t think
these books provided everything but were a good starting point.

I matched these books with the picture book by Chris Van
Drusen, If I Built a House because it takes a fanciful,
pie-in-the-sky approach to building a home for the narrator’s family.

Because the unit was going to go beyond homes, the student teachers
wanted books that would show different kinds of buildings. They wanted iconic
buildings from around the world, so I showed them 13 Buildings Children ShouldKnow by Annette Roeder. Also graded for grades 3 to 6, it does feature
the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Taj Mahal, the Sydney Opera House, The Eiffel
Tower and many others. Each entry includes photographs, illustrations,
information about when they were built, construction techniques and the
occasional quiz question.

I’m hoping I’ll find out how the students developed this
unit further in the near future.

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About Me

I am the reference coordinator at The Doucette Library of Teaching Resources, a curriculum library in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.
I love connecting education students and teachers with engaging and exciting resources for classroom teaching. I believe that resources that get me excited (or those that get you excited) are the ones with the best potential to get kids interested in learning about - well, everything. Finding those books that connect to the real world are the ones I enjoy promoting the most.